I think that it's a bit much to pay 10 CHF every time you want to take your bike on the train (or a half-price ticket, whichever is cheaper), but I've found a solution to this that works pretty well: If you put your bike in a bag, then it goes for free. The style of bag that SBB recommends that you use only requires you to remove the front wheel. They can be obtained for about 90 CHF from stores such as Veloplus: www.veloplus.ch, search their site for "transit"; another brand available from other retailers is called a "tranZbag".

The bag is very basic and so weighs less than a kilo: my wife's and mine both fit in one 10 litre pannier with room to spare for a couple of rain jackets and lunch. It only takes a couple of minutes at each end to put the bike into and take it out of the bag. Plus, if you're running late then you can take the bike onto the train as it is and put it into the bag as the train is pulling away.

We were originally a bit confused as to where you put the bike in the train when its in a bag. After all, you haven't paid the surcharge, so you shouldn't use the regular bike rack, correct? No, in fact, that's wrong. We surveyed several ticket attendants on several types of trains and they all wanted us to put the bag in the regular bike area. We have even discovered that you can still hang the bike on the hook while in the bag, just hang it from the back wheel and make sure that there is some slack in the bag where the hook is. Of course, if other cyclists enter the train who do have a ticket for their bike, then yield the official slots to them, but there's then still normally room to put the bike bag next to or between their hanging bikes.

Of course, if you have more money than us then you can pay 195 CHF per year to take your bike anywhere you wanna go in Switzerland without having to worry about a bag, but you'd have to use this more than just on the occasional weekend ride to make it cheaper than individual tickets. The bike bag still has advantages over this option though because it also avoids extra charges on trains in many other surrounding countries, and the 90 CHF initial outlay only has to be paid once instead of paying the 195 CHF every year.

Good to know, thanks for the tip

Umm...where to buy that bag again?


Just kidding....

Let me guess: you carry all your domestic rubbish into town with you as well to deposit it in public bins to avoid the cost of a Zurisack ?

Its bad enough to put a bike in housse when flying, let alone cramming it into a bin liner any time i want to get the train. Lifes too short.

dave

Hi ChrisW,

Thanks for the tip, pls ignore doomsayers and people who may not agree with your "tip".

Money does not grow on trees, with many mouths to feed, it is nice to know ways to stretch that swiss franc.

I am sure "baseless accusations" are not pleasant to read, but there exists people who likes to give advice where it is not needed. (me too me too)

HAT

That's hilarious .

Kids in a suitcase ?
dave

Its a proper bicycle bag Dave and not a binliner. I know lots of people who use these and not only will it help you avoid the bike charge but it also protects your bike from getting scratched with the inside padding and they usually have pockets inside for your bike tools, helmet and cycling gear.

You can put your dog in a basket too!

actually yes!!! believe it or not, if your dog is in a bag then it goes for free

maybe if we put ourselves in a bag we could go for free

By the look of HAT's avitar he's on the way...

Glad you guys see the farnee side of things....
HAHHAHAAH

Actually, the bags that we use don't have any padding, and there's only a pocket for the front wheel. This helps to make it not too large when folded down to carry in a pannier when riding. I wouldn't recommend this kind of bag for anything other than train travel or for putting a bike inside a car and keeping the vehicle's interior clean. For any other kind of bike transport, get a more serious bag or box, but for train travel then this is ideal.

I'm glad that people seem interested in this post; as a quick follow-up, another bike-transport tip is that you can take 2 bikes on a plane while only paying one surcharge by taking one box that contains two bikes. When we moved here from Canada with FOUR bikes (one road, one mountain bike each), we got two boxes custom-made at a local box factory, double-walled corrugated cardboard, each large enough for two bikes, each costing just 35 CHF. Of course, the bikes need to be packed and padded well, and it's best if you detach the handlebars as well as the normal front wheel and pedals to make the box as small as possible. We've kept the boxes and will use them again when we move next.

Happy riding!

Think that's just a little inflammatory DaveA. The OP is sharing a tip, and has done so in a reasonably well written and helpful manner. He comes from Lausanne - I doubt he would know what a Zürisack is (note to other readers - it's an official rubbish bag which you have to buy if you live in Zurich, rubbish in normal bags is not collected).

There may be other considerations other than cost to consider. By the sounds of it putting it in the bag reduces the size (remove front wheel), and has soft padding on the outside. This would make it a little friendlier for other passengers since it might be less painful if it brushed against them. I can see the logic from the SBB here - take something large and potentially spiky onto a train - pay extra. Take steps to make it smaller and friendlier for passengers, take it for free. It's not all crazy stuff in this country

You are right. The tone was not as I intended.
Backpedalling.
dave

Just a tip, Veloplus has these bags on special for 59-, offer ends today 5th May. I finally ordered one

I've quoted ChrisW's original post below, to get to the heart of things.

There are two types, make sure you get the heavier duty one with the padding underneath the forks. When I bought mine the heavier and lighter ones were the same price.

Correct. The 59- offer is for the "heavier" duty one. The "sport" model is for roadies/racers and is a tad lighter.

Just FYI, if you have a folding bicycle, it travels for free. I have a nippy little Dahon Mu SL as a commuter bike, which has paid for itself three times over so far. (No I don't have bottle-bottom glasses and a waterproof map case hanging from a string round my necK.)
The wife, with her overdeveloped sense of cool calls me "King of the Noobs", but funnily enough, a lot of Swiss have come up and made appreciative comments, asked how much it cost and asked highly technical questions about it (e.g.: Which magnesium alloy is the frame made of?) that I have no clue how to answer.

Cheers

Jim